Stop And Frisk Case Study

1042 Words3 Pages

Explain how the "Stop and Frisk" policies have changed and what role public opinion played in making these changes.

Stop and Frisk is a practice that was put into play by which a police officer initiates a stop of an individual on the street supposedly based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity “Stop and frisk” and other discriminatory policing practices have spiraled out of control.

The New York Police Department in 2011 made over 684,000 street stops in 2010 a 14% increase (and a 603% increase since 2002, Bloomberg 's first year in office) According to a report from the Public Advocate 's office, 532,911 stops were conducted in 2012, down from 685,724 in 2011. The vast majority of those stops were of black or Hispanic people: …show more content…

City of New York, where in the summer of 2013 US District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ruled in favor of African-American and Hispanic plaintiffs who had been stopped by police. In the plaintiffs ' Section 1983 class action against the city, Scheindlin considered evidence of a large number of unjustified police stops of citizens, as well as the ineffectiveness of the stops where only six percent of all stops resulted in any type of arrest and a much smaller percentage led to the discovery of any weapons. Scheindlin also evaluated studies showing that police officers were more likely to stop blacks and Latinos than whites (and with less justification). For example, in 2011, nearly 87 percent of all police stops were of blacks and Latinos, and overall, police were more likely to use force against blacks and Latinos. Further, she concluded that these discrepancies resulted from official policies. “Bartley, who is African-American, says his warnings about police harassment have become a daily ritual with his son and two daughters, a sentiment echoed by Yates and other African-American residents. He has told his teenage son and two daughters to take an ID with them before leaving home. If police stop them, they should keep their hands out of their pockets and not make sudden …show more content…

They find the stops "show few significant effects of several SQF [stop, question, and frisk] measures on precinct robbery and burglary rates."

The third founded by Hebrew University 's David Weisburd and George Mason 's Cody Telep and Brian Lawton, analysis of stop and frisk incidents occur to regulate whether the program counts as "hot spots" policing, a strategy with demonstrable effectiveness wherein police target resources in geographic areas with heavy crime.

The proposed “receipt” policy will begin Sept. 21, according to Zimroth’s recommendation, which was filed in Manhattan federal court. For officers the revisions in the Patrol Guide clearly states that “uniformed members of the service must conduct investigative encounters in a lawful and respectful manner.” There should be better record keeping on the part of officers and superiors. And what the court found lacking, fully documenting stops and reasonable suspicion on UF 250 forms must be filled out completely, including in activity

Open Document